If I Die Young
by ChloeHeidrich1228
Summary: Rema Becksling is Haymitch Abernathy's best friend. How will their friendship survive when it is interrupted by the 51st Annual Hunger Games and a budding romance? Only time will tell.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! So, this is the first chapter of the first "book" of my Haymitch Abernathy saga. It will have three "books" to it. Each one I will dedicate to one of the people who have helped me most throughout the process of writing this story. This one is dedicated to a person known to me as 'the mexican.' She knows who she is, but she is definitely my biggest supporter. As with everything I write, comments and messages are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!  
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**If I Die Young:**

Rema Becksling stepped off the train and onto the platform of District 12. Her mother was right behind her, carrying two smaller-sized suitcases. The cases were light, allowing for easy travel. Even though between the two women, they could have filled twenty suitcases with their many possessions, they left most of what they owned back in District 1. It was all too sad. Every one of their belongings reminded them in some way of Rema's father. Taking one of the suitcases from her mother, Rema led the way off the platform and into the town square, where many small, rundown shops were set up. They walked together to the small brown house that had belonged to the family in what seemed like another life. The house was as it had been left—a fine layer of coal dust coating everything, dishes in the cupboards, a ratty tablecloth covering the old oak table—yet everything seemed so alien. It was complicated enough moving from the sparkling city in District 1 to the poverty-stricken streets of District 12, but now the fact that the family had not been able to hold on to that sparkling city was being thrown in their faces full force. That was when Rema dropped her suitcase in the middle of the kitchen and stormed out.

She had no idea where to go since she was still getting used to the town again, but she knew of one place that she would be welcome. As she walked through the square and down the slight dirt path, snow began to fall lightly. By the time Rema reached her destination, another brown house covered in coal dust, there was a light coating on the ground. She knocked on the door lightly. No one answered. Another knock revealed that no one ever would. The door swung open and the kitchen was completely void of all life. No signs of fire in the hearth. Dust coated everything. It was as if no one had ever lived in this house, let alone Ginger Abernathy, the obsessively clean mother of Rema's best friend. Confused, Rema left the house, pulling the door closed respectively. On her way back to the town square, she passed a middle-aged man making his way from the mines. She approached him. "Excuse me, sir?" she asked, walking in stride with the miner. "Where are the Abernathys?"

For a second, the man looked at her with confusion. When it registered that she was new in town, he shrugged. "A better place, I hope."

Rema stopped walking, considering what he meant before speeding after him. "Wait! What do you mean?"

"You didn't hear?" Rema shook her head. "Ginger Abernathy and her son were killed just after the 50th ended."

"Which son?" Rema asked, barely managing to compose herself. Seeing him was the only good part about moving back to this impoverished district. If the Capitol took that away too, Rema felt that they would have a full-scale, one-woman rebellion on their perfectly manicured hands.

"Barberry. Haymitch lives in the Victor's Village," he said finitely, walking away from her quickly.

A grin plastered itself across Rema's face as she broke into a run. The Victor's Village was a small neighborhood of twelve houses, meant to accommodate the winners of the annual Games. As Haymitch was the first ever to win from District 12, his was the only house with smoke coming from the chimney. Her wavy brown hair flowing behind her, Rema sprinted the rest of the way into the Victor's Village, breaking the freshly fallen snow with her high-end, District 1 snowshoes. She banged on Haymitch's door loudly. When he didn't answer, Rema ran around the house, searching for a window she could shinny open. One of the three windows in the kitchen was ajar, so she peeked in. Haymitch was sitting at the table asleep. His head was down and his arms were splayed out in front of him. He was clutching something, but from this angle, she couldn't tell exactly what it was.

Rema entered the house easily—the door wasn't locked—and navigated her way into the kitchen, where Haymitch was still sleeping. It wasn't until Rema entered the kitchen that she was almost knocked backward. Even with a window open, the entire room smelled of alcohol, stale, pungent, and overly abundant. Why was Haymitch passed out in the kitchen? There was only one way to find out the answer: she would have to wake Haymitch. She shook his shoulder lightly, not expecting him to wake up, but more as a precaution to make sure he was actually asleep. Rema shook her head. "Haymitch," she whispered, attempting to wake him. He didn't stir, so she filled a cup of water in his half-broken faucet and dumped it slowly over his head. Haymitch jumped, his sandy-blond, wet hair plastered to his head. He spun his fist around and it was clear now what he was clutching—a knife, Haymitch's only weapon in the Games aside from his wits. Rema had seen the Games, watched Haymitch single-handedly blast apart the Capitol's precious scare-tactic, but she had never even thought of how much his life had been affected by the terrors he had endured.

"The fuck?" Haymitch spluttered, swinging his head around, looking for his attacker. "Why the hell am I wet?"

Rema, who had jumped onto the counter quickly to avoid Haymitch's knife, slowly lowered herself down so that her feet touched the messy floor. "Because I dumped water on you, Dippy."

Haymitch spun at her, angrily pointing his knife in her direction. Instinctively, she hopped back up on the counter, her hands raised in a sign of peace. Emotions flashed across his bright Seam-grey eyes, among them being anger, confusion, and finally, sadness. "Rem," he breathed, managing to stand and stagger over to her. "No," he shook his head, grabbing her arm. "You can't be here. They can't see you here. I won't let them do that to you."

Rema grabbed one of the cupboards, preventing him from dragging her anywhere. Eventually, he collapsed into a heap on the floor from the effort. She knelt beside him, rubbing his back. "Mitch, what's wrong?"

He looked up at her, his eyes watering on the verge of tears. "The Capitol. They killed Mottie, my mother, Barberry, everyone." A few tears managed to squeeze through his closed lashes as Rema helped Haymitch to stand. She supported him as they walked into the living room and sat on his couch. Rema cradled her broken friend as he attempted to build back up his walls. Not knowing what to say to the emotionally tattered individual she was helping cope, she just sat beside him, holding him delicately, and rubbing his back. Fifteen minutes later, Haymitch was once again calm. "I need a drink," he said moodily, making to stand.

Rema grabbed his hand. "No," she said forcefully. "I'm not letting you cope like this."

Haymitch jerked his wrist from her grip. "This is my house. My pain. I cope how I see fit, got it, Sweetheart?"

This took Rema off guard. Haymitch never snapped at her before, let alone call her Sweetheart. "Fine, but don't come crawling to me tomorrow." She stormed out of Haymitch's house in a blind rage. Just because he was grieving didn't give him the right to take it out on the one person that was actually trying to help him. She stomped through the now thick snowdrift to her new house, where she found that her mother had already created a roaring fire in the hearth and started to put away their few possessions. Not even bothering to respond to her mother's questioning looks, Rema flopped down at the kitchen table, her head on her arms, and fought the urge to scream.


	2. Chapter 2

As the months passed, Rema managed to mend her relationship with Haymitch. They were almost to the point where they had been when the Winner's Tour interrupted the healing process. He was scheduled to travel to the different districts promoting the Games. Truthfully, it was always torturous for the families of the deceased tributes, but the Capitol enjoyed the celebrations, so the tour stayed in place. That morning, Haymitch and Rema sat on the train platform, awaiting the arrival of the train. It was still a good three hours before the train was to arrive, but they were there anyway. Haymitch had no one he wanted to see him off but Rema, yet the two sat in silence. Finally, he turned to Rema and took one of her hands in both of his. He said nothing, choosing instead to just stare at her.

"What?" Rema asked, the soft wind gently blowing her brown hair. Haymitch just shook his head and stood, walking to the end of the platform. "Seriously, Haymitch, what?"

"I just keep thinking that before you came back, I thought the Capitol had taken everything from me. But I realized that I still have you. We're still friends." His back was turned to her and he was staring off down the tracks. "I think the train is coming." Sure enough, the telltale cloud of smoke was forming on the horizon, and the air was filled with the sounds of the train's engine. Haymitch walked over to Rema and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?" he whispered into her ear. Before she could answer, he was onto the train and the doors were closing. Haymitch's head appeared in one of the windows and he waved at her. She raised her hand, signaling her goodbye as the train began to creep away.

Haymitch was gone for four weeks, enough time for Rema to realize a hidden talent: she was a skilled healer, just like her father. She managed to heal a small band of coal miners after a boulder fell and crushed two of their legs, the ensuing rock slide wounding another four. It was finally the day of Haymitch's return, which meant only one thing: the District 12 party. Normally, the tour started with 12 since it was the poorest and the least desirable to visit, and worked its way to the Capitol and the winner's home district; however, since Haymitch was from District 12, the Capitol paid for the entire party, which meant that it was going to be extravagant. Rema's mother laid out a special outfit for Rema for the party, but Rema was not allowed to look at it until it was time to dress for the bash.

Rema attempted to meet Haymitch at the train platform, but she was met there by peacekeepers, who directed her away. No one was to see him until the party later that night. Chagrined, Rema turned and walked to the Hob, where she sat down at Greasy Sae's soup counter. She was offered a bowl of Greasy Sae's own wild turkey stew, but declined. Sae's cooking was nothing to write home about, in fact, it was downright horrid, but it fed those who were starving. The party was to start at four o'clock. What was she going to do until then?

She stood and walked out of the Hob, heading straight for a low-hanging branch near the electrified fence marking the edge of the district. Finding a stick, she sat on a rock protruding from the ground and pulled out her pocketknife. She stripped the bark off the stick before sharpening the tip into a fine point. Bored with her handiwork, she stood and threw the stick like a javelin over the fence. It landed point-down and lodged itself in the frozen ground. Rema closed her knife and shoved it back into her pocket, deciding to return home.

A fire was lit in the hearth when Rema entered the house. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, knitting a pair of socks. "Oh, Rema!" her mother said, noticing her daughter. "I've decided that I'm going to open a shop."

"Of what, mother? Your knitting?" Rema asked testily. She knew she shouldn't talk to her mother like that, but she was frustrated that she wasn't allowed to see Haymitch. She was angry that she was bored.

"Actually, yes. Look," her mother gestured to a basket. "I've already made all this. It's mostly socks and things, but they're good quality."

Shaking her head, Rema walked into the living room, where she curled up on the couch. "What time is it?"

"Almost three. You should go get ready for the party. I'll be up in a few minutes to fix your hair for you, if you want."

Rema bolted upright and ran to her room, where the outfit was still laying on her bed. Holding up the dress, she noted briefly the color. It was a simple black dress, but when the fabric moved, it shimmered gently. She changed quickly. The bodice of the dress was fitted, accentuating her curves in a way that made it clear this dress was **not** from District 12. This dress had been bought and created in District 1, in the lap of luxury. Rema's mother entered her room, and after several comments on how the dress looked beautiful on her daughter, set to work on Rema's hair. Half an hour later, Rema's hair was braided and pulled tightly to drape over her left shoulder. She looked very elegant. They left for the party, which was at the Justice Building, and upon arrival, they found that they were not as early as they had expected to be.

Mayor Delin escorted Rema away from her mother to a table that had strictly been reserved for her. He said no more, even under Rema's intense questioning, and left abruptly. Minutes after she sat down, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning, Rema caught sight of Haymitch for the first time in months. He looked slightly ragged, suggesting he had started to drink heavily again, but otherwise, he was the picture of health. Rema stood and the two hugged warmly. Haymitch held her at arms' length, inspecting everything about her, her dress, her hair, her eyes. "I saw a dress just like this when I was in District 1," he concluded, badly attempting to cover what he was thinking.

Rema let his blatant cover slip, instead choosing to play along. "Really? Oh, damn. I'm going to have to burn this little dress now, aren't I?" She faked a Capitol accent.

Haymitch burst into laughter. "Can't have someone else wearing the same dress as you!" He too was faking the accent.

Rema was near tears from laughing so hard. The mayor stood and tapped a spoon against his glass, getting the attention of all of District 12. He made a speech about how nice it was to have Haymitch back and safe and how the Games affected the lives of the people both positively and negatively. He toasted Haymitch's good health and everyone drank as the food was brought to the tables. After the dinner of lamb stew with dried prunes (Haymitch said it was imported straight from the Capitol), a small band began to play upbeat music. Several people got up to dance.

As the song changed tempos and became slower, Haymitch stood, offering Rema his hand. "Care to dance?"

"I'm not sure I remember how, seeing as I've been living in the antithesis of civilization for the past two months," she joked, taking his hand and allowing Haymitch to lead her to the dance floor.

He chuckled and delicately placed one hand on her hip, his other hand holding hers. Rema draped an arm around his neck and they danced in a tight circle. As the song progressed, they became braver in their choice of dance moves and Haymitch spun Rema around a few times.


	3. Chapter 3

Now that Haymitch was back, the weeks became months quickly. Before long, it was the day of the reaping—Rema's last Reaping Day, to be exact. It was still early morning, the moon was still up and the early morning fog had just rolled in, when Rema was woken from a deep slumber by a light tapping at her window. She shot up and saw Haymitch standing outside her window, his sandy-blond hair still mussed from sleep. Rema stood and pushed open her window before sitting back down on her bed. Haymitch climbed through the now open window and sat lightly at the foot of her bed, his grey Seam eyes searching for answers to questions Rema didn't know.

"You know," she began, groggily attempting humor, "in District 1, if you're caught awake this early, it's considered a crime." Haymitch said nothing, his expression full of unease. She stopped joking. "What?"

"It's your last reap, Rem," he said softly. "You've made it this far without getting picked. I don't know how long your luck's going to last."

Rema shook her head and moved to sit beside him at the foot of the bed. "Mitch," she started, using the nickname she only used when he needed comforting, "I've never signed up for the tesserae; my name's only in that bowl six times. The odds are in my favor."

"But what if you do get picked?" He was genuinely concerned for her.

"Then, I'll go. I really don't have a choice, do I? No one's going to volunteer to take the place of the girl who deserted 12."

"You didn't desert," he started. "And you don't know what it's like in that arena."

Her arms wrapped around him, enveloping him in a hug. "No, maybe not, but I'm pretty handy with a knife, and I'm a quick thinker." She paused before whispering, "And I've got you to coach me through it."

Haymitch seemed to relax. "Promise me one thing," he breathed, his words tickling her ear.

"Anything."

"Promise me that if you get picked, you'll find a way to make it out of there." He pulled her tighter.

"Of course."

As the sun rose, the two laid back and watched the light creep slowly across the floor of Rema's small room. Rema fell asleep shortly after the sun was up and Haymitch wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders. When she woke up, she was completely rested and Haymitch was nowhere to be found. She noticed a piece of paper sitting on her dresser.

_Had to go home and get ready. See you at the reaping. –Haymitch _

She tossed the paper back on her dresser and dug through her closet, trying to find something nice to wear to the reaping. Finally, she settled on a lavender, strapless, knee-length dress her mother had bought her at a boutique in District 1. She pulled her hair up into a stylishly messy bun and walked downstairs. It was almost two o'clock—almost time for the reaping. Her mother had woken up that morning feeling ill, so Rema made the journey to the square alone. Unable to locate Haymitch, Rema allowed herself to be ushered into a group of all the possible female tributes. Looking at the group of males, she caught the eye of one of her old friends, Chirler Hibiscusing, looking at her. She waved. It was his last eligible year, as well. The escort Miss Elaina Robespietra, a stout woman whose skin and hair were tinged yellow, walked onto the stage and gave her usual speech on how the Games were formed and such. She introduced Haymitch, who walked onstage, eyes searching for Rema. Rema could tell Haymitch had been drinking; it was probably so he could forget what had happened to him during his games. When Elaina finished her speech, she wished everyone luck and stuck her hand into the girls' bowl. She fished around in the bowl and finally pulled a single piece of paper out. As Elaina read the name into her microphone, Rema's heart almost stopped.

As if in a trance, Rema walked onstage and was hugged by Elaina. Elaina then plunged her hand into the boys' bowl. Again, Rema was shocked. Chirler joined her onstage. As he was walking to his place, Chirler reached out his hand and grasped Rema's. It was merely brief contact, but it was comforting, and Rema knew exactly what it meant. She was not alone in this competition.

The next few hours flew by in a blur. They were supposed to be used to visit with family and other well-wishers, but since Rema's mother was ill, she did not show up. Four hours passed with no one walking into Rema's waiting room, not even Haymitch. The fifth hour, however, someone knocked on the door and entered the room shyly. Rema recognized the person immediately as Chirler's father. He was District 12's jeweler, and shared many physical attributes with his son. Both men had jet black hair, even though Chirler's was longer than his father's; blue-green eyes, which indicated that they were wealthy enough to live outside the Seam; a tall and lanky frame that undoubtedly hid muscle; and the same slouchy, yet confident stance. Mr. Hibiscusing was quiet, unlike his son, who was loquacious. Rema stood to greet him. He smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck." He handed her a small box.

Rema opened it and smiled. A necklace was sitting on a cotton pillow. The charm was of two mockingjays sitting on a tree branch. Realizing the significance of the mockingjay, District 12's avian symbol, Rema looked up at the man. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

The man walked forward and slid the charm open, revealing that it was actually a locket. It had spots for two pictures, one of which was already filled with a family portrait of her father, mother, and herself, the other spot was blank. "Please try to take care of my son," he said softly before walking out of the room.

"I'll try my hardest," Rema resolved as the door shut.

Rema only had to wait a few minutes before Elaina came to collect her. They walked to the train station and boarded the waiting train. Haymitch was sitting on a couch, staring blankly out the window. Rema could tell from his expression that he had had more to drink. Chirler was sitting opposite Haymitch on the other couch. He smiled weakly at her. "Hey, Chirler," Rema said, catching Haymitch's attention. "How've you been?"

"Well, I was doing pretty well. Until this afternoon, that is." His voice was slightly nasally, but it was familiar and gentle. It was nice to know the other person on the train, even if Rema may have to have a hand in his death later.

Rema chuckled at Chirler's answer. "You and I both." Haymitch glared at her briefly. "What?"

Elaina coughed. "Would you like to see the rest of the train, Chirler?" Sensing the tension in the air, Chirler nodded and the two scurried out of the living room.

"What's your problem?" Rema asked, not intending to sound so rude.

"Laugh it up with Mr. Hilarity," he mumbled, refusing to look at her.

"What? Haymitch, Chirler and I are friends. And I think this whole situation could use a bit of cheering up." She crossed and sat beside him. "What's really bothering you?" Haymitch was silent. "Fine, be that way. I'm going to go find Elaina and Chirler. I'm hungry."


	4. Chapter 4

Elaina turned on the television and sat down between Haymitch and Chirler. Rema sat on a chair just to Chirler's left. "I wonder who else got picked!" Elaina gushed. The Capitol's broadcast was just beginning. District 1's mayor appeared on the screen and gave a speech similar to the one Mayor Delin had given. The escort smiled and picked one name from the glass bowl.

"Metyse Mossrun!" she called ebulliently. Rema gasped. Metyse had been her best friend in District 1, as well as her neighbor. Chirler put a hand comfortingly on Rema's knee when no one volunteered to take the girl's place, an oddity for District 1; they always had volunteers. The petite girl walked onto the stage. She was no older than fifteen, her brown hair falling in waves to her shoulders. "Kelid Fliplaurel," the escort announced, reading the name from the boy's bowl. Rema's heart sank even lower. Kelid's father was Rema's father's assistant and the families were close friends.

Rema watched the rest of the broadcast with little enthusiasm. The tributes' names and faces all seemed to blend; however, some of them were memorable. Untian Yellred, a volunteer from District 2, had large muscles and sandy-blond hair. The girl from District 4, Lismet Searose, was extremely pale despite her proximity to the ocean. Chelmot Kickweed from District 6 was muscular, but his eyes were what captivated Rema; she could tell he would be an invaluable ally. Metelle Hawkins, the female tribute from District 9, was backwards and shy, her face reddening immediately when she got onto the stage. The program recapped the District 12 reaping and the broadcast ended.

The television went blank and Elaina stood, bidding them all goodnight. Chirler and Haymitch also left the living room, walking through the car to their rooms. Rema only sat where she was, unmoving, humming a song she learned from a music chip and processing everything. Her closest friends were now her fellow tributes. She would have to formulate a plan to have them as allies and not have to kill them later. Haymitch, her only hope to be able to truly survive in this competition, was mysteriously mad at her. In just a few short days, Rema would be sent into a secretive arena where she would have to survive longer than twenty-three other people, maybe even killing some of them.

Rema sat alone in the living room for what felt like hours when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned quickly and saw Haymitch, standing at the door groggily. "You're still up?" he asked, rubbing an eye.

"Yeah. Does it matter? I wasn't told of a curfew." Her words were defensive and biting, but the last time the two had talked, he had had the same tone.

"No, but it helps to have sleep," Haymitch said, walking over to her chair and sitting on the armrest. Rema rolled her eyes and moved to the couch. "What have you been doing out here for an hour?" Haymitch followed her persistently.

"Strategizing. Figuring out who I want to ally myself with, if anyone."

"And?"

"I have a decent strategy worked out for the cornucopia, but after that, I'm clueless."

"And your allies?" Haymitch asked, surreptitiously moving closer.

"Obviously Metyse and Kelid, if they'll have me. Maybe Chirler, again if he wants to join up. Maybe that boy from 6… what was his name… Chelmot Kickweed."

Haymitch's brow furrowed. "All those allies will prove advantageous and detrimental."

"I know, but I can't abandon my friends."

Haymitch nodded and put an arm around Rema's shoulder. She didn't protest, so he left it there. "And your interview? What angle will you play at?"

"I was thinking maybe I'd try humble. And if that doesn't work, I'll wing it." Haymitch laughed. "What?" He shook his head.

They were silent for a few minutes. In the purity and quietness of the moonlight, Rema got her first true glimpse at her best friend. His Seam eyes, stone grey, yet full of life and wit, were slightly sunken, due to malnutrition. In his eyes, Rema could see everything the Capitol had put him through with the games, every bit of heartache he had endured, every challenge he had overcome. At such a young age, Haymitch's face was taut with worries a typical teenager would never dream of experiencing. Even so, Haymitch was rather handsome. His sandy-blond hair fell scruffily to the tip of his earlobes. Too late, Rema noticed that she was staring at him and that he had held her gaze the entire time. Rema smiled slightly and leaned forward, kissing Haymitch's cheek gently. "I'll be fine," she whispered. "I think I'm going to go to sleep."

"Good night."

Rema slept horribly. She dreamt that the Gamemakers were forcing her to kill Haymitch. She jolted awake, only to drift off into a dream full of horrid, blood curdling screams. Needless to say, Rema didn't wake up in the best of moods. The next morning, Chirler and Rema met Elaina and Haymitch in the dining car. "Today, we arrive in the Capitol!" Elaina announced enthusiastically.

Rema sighed. "Any words of wisdom?" she asked Haymitch.

"Don't object to your stylists. Let them do whatever they want to you. They get paid to make you look fantastic," he replied, shrugging. "Other than that, don't die."

Rema rolled her eyes just as they entered the tunnel that connected the Capitol to the outside world. Chirler sat on edge by the window, awaiting his first glimpse at the Capitol's splendor. It took about ten minutes to make it through the entire mountainous tunnel. The Capitol was shining, as the sun was high in the sky.

"Here we are!" Elaina said cheerily as the train pulled into the station. It was in juxtaposition to a twelve-story building that Rema presumed to be the training building. They took the elevator to the twelfth floor, where two teenagers in white uniforms stood silently. "These two will show you to your rooms," Elaina told Chirler and Rema. "There you will await your team of stylists."

Chirler and Rema followed the two silently. They stopped first at a door on the right of the hallway. The female pointed to Rema as Chirler and the male continued down the hallway. "Thank you," Rema told the girl, who nodded and walked away. Rema opened the door and entered a rather large room. There was a queen size bed in the center of one of the adjacent walls, and a giant window on the opposite wall. On the other adjacent wall, there was an open door leading to a bathroom, as well as a closet and three drawers. Rema sat on the bed, patiently awaiting the stylists. She didn't have to wait long, they barged in only minutes later. All three of them were male and obviously from the Capitol.

"Hello," the man standing in the center of the group said. "I am Plusian, this is Gerit, and that is Yevim," he introduced. Plusian's skin was dyed a powder blue, and his short hair faded from baby blue to lavender. He had bright blue eye shadow, which accented his crystal blue eyes. Gerit had green eyeliner around his eyes, and his hair was the color of limes, but other than that, he looked completely normal. Yevim, on the other hand, made both Gerit and Plusian look like they were from the districts. Yevim's hair was cut and styled in purple ringlets that stuck out from his head at strange angles; his skin was dyed lavender. His lips looked like ten thousand bees had stung them simultaneously.

"Obviously, you're my team of stylists," Rema said. "Which one of you is the head?"

"None of us." Yevim chuckled, his Capitol accent strangling his words.

"We just prepare you for Telis," Gerit added.

Rema nodded. "What do you have planned for me?"

"We need to see you as a blank slate," Plusian responded. Rema raised an eyebrow and he continued. "Telis will figure out what to do with you after we get you to beauty level zero." He pushed Rema into the bathroom and pushed a few buttons on the bathtub. Immediately, it filled with a strange smelling liquid. "Get in."

Rema looked at him blankly. Surely, he didn't mean that she was to strip and take a bath with him still in the room. She got the answer to her thoughts when he began to pull her dress over her head. Remembering Haymitch's advice, she allowed her stylist to continue. After her bath, she toweled off, and noticing that there were no clothes in the bathroom, stuck her head into her room. "What would you like me to wear?"

"We need to see you before we determine your wardrobe," an unfamiliar voice told her.

Sighing, she stepped out of the bathroom. The unfamiliar voice belonged to a lanky man with black hair. His appearance was completely unaltered by the Capitol's version of beauty. Rema smiled, knowing that her stylist liked to march to the beat of a different drummer; she could tell she was going to enjoy having Telis as a stylist. He circled her, inspecting her body, ruffling her hair at different angles, moving in closer to scrutinize the color of her eyes. Finally, he handed her a robe and mumbled some things to the prep team. Plusian flipped a switch and immediately, the room was illuminated completely. Gerit pulled a chair over and Rema sat down.

Yevim picked up her right hand. "Your cuticles are beautiful. I've never seen anyone from District 12 with such lovely nails."

"Thank you. I lived in District 1 for a few years."

"That would explain your beautiful dress," Yevim replied.

He filed her nails into a square cut and painted a clear undercoat onto them before Plusian took over. "Telis wants me to highlight your hair. Any specific color you would like?" Rema shook her head. "Okay, then I'll just give you something noticeable, but not overpowering. Maybe a light brown…" he trailed off, scurrying to gather his materials.

The entire makeover took a good four hours. After Plusian put the color in her hair, Gerit got out his scissors and began to cut. Rema ended up with light brown streaks through her now choppily layered, shorter hair. Telis then took over. He did her make-up so that it just accentuated her existing features. Her lips were redder and fuller and she had a light layer of smoky eye shadow that brought out her blue-green eyes.

"Wait, why are you preparing me now?" Rema asked Telis. "Aren't the opening ceremonies usually the day after the tributes arrive?"

"Normally, yes, but the Capitol wanted to try something new this year," Telis replied, adding the final accents to her make-up. "The opening ceremonies will be tonight, and then you start training tomorrow." Rema nodded. "I think we're done for now. This make-up should last until tonight, and then before the ceremony, we'll put you in your costumes." Telis dismissed the prep team before handing her a dress bag. "Put this on."

"What is it?"

"A dress. I think it'll make you aware of a lot of things that go on in your friends' minds." Telis smiled deviously. "I want to see the look on Haymitch's face when he sees you."

_Why?_ Rema wondered. Telis unzipped the garment bag as she slipped off the robe. She stepped into the dress and Telis fastened it and zipped it up. Smiling happily, Telis nudged her toward the floor length mirror. The dress was dark grey, strapless, and knee length. It was formfitting and tied tightly at the waist.

"Do you like it?" Telis asked her, still smiling.

"I love it."

Telis smiled even wider. "Then let's go show it off." Rema slipped on the matching pair of dark grey heels and the exited the room.

Elaina, Haymitch, and Chirler were all sitting in the dining room, eating their lunch. Haymitch and Elaina both were sitting with their backs to her, so Chirler, who had also gotten a haircut, noticed her first. "Rema," he breathed. "I don't think humble is going to work for your interview."

Haymitch and Elaina spun to look at her. "You look fabulous," Elaina told her excitedly. Haymitch remained silent, staring at her intently.

"Thanks, Elaina." Rema smiled. Telis nudged her and nodded to Haymitch, silently telling her to talk to him and that his reaction was what Telis had been excited to see. "Haymitch, what do you think?" Haymitch didn't answer, he just nodded silently. Rema suddenly realized why Haymitch had freaked out the first day she was in District 12. His feelings for her stretched beyond basic friendship, even beyond best friends. Haymitch loved her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chirler and Rema stood with Telis and Leonia, Chirler's stylist, waiting for Haymitch. They were both already dressed, for the "festivities" started in fifteen minutes. Rema's dress was the color of coal, and she wore a headband Telis had designed that was covered in a shiny byproduct of coal called anthracite. They had taken her gift from Mr. Hibiscusing when she had gotten to the Capitol and in its place hung a simple anthracite necklace. Her shoes were bright red and when she moved, it looked like they were on fire. Chirler's clothes were also black, and his shoes too were on fire. He wore a watch detailed in anthracite. Haymitch arrived three minutes before their carriage was supposed to leave on its journey.

"Just wave to the crowd," Haymitch grunted, looking drunker than ever. "Play your angles if you can." With that, he left.

"He's just worried," Telis reassured Rema. "He'll come around. Now, come on, get in." Rema and Chirler mounted the carriage led by two pitch-black horses and they began to move through the streets.

The Capitol passed by rather quickly and soon they were in the City Circle along with the rest of the tributes. Rema noticed Metyse and Kelid in their cart led by two elegant chestnut horses. President Snow gave a speech about how the Games started, wished each tribute luck, and dismissed them. The carriages took them back to the training center, where Rema and Chirler fell back to catch the elevator with Metyse and Kelid. Their reunion was short lived, and as soon as the elevator began to rise, Rema turned to her friends from District 1.

"Allies?" she asked simply. Metyse nodded without even questioning it. Kelid, who always analyzed things more than necessary, took a few seconds before nodding slowly. "Okay. We'll discuss more tomorrow during training. I have a few ideas." The elevator doors opened and the two from District 1 stepped out, leaving Chirler and Rema alone. When they got to their floor, Haymitch was sitting on the couch, watching the recap of the opening ceremony.

"I'm going to take this make-up off," Chirler said, pointing to the light eyeliner Leonia had insisted on putting on him at the last minute. Rema nodded and walked over to Haymitch.

She sat down beside him and said nothing. If he wanted to tell her what was wrong, it was his business. She wouldn't pry. Finally, as the recap ended, Haymitch sighed and looked at Rema. "How long have you known?" When Rema looked confused, he elaborated. "About my feelings."

Realizing he was indirectly attempting to discuss her revelation, she searched for a truthful answer. "Honestly, not until Telis hinted at it and even then I wasn't sure what he meant. I figured it out when you wouldn't talk to me with that dress on."

"I couldn't," he answered sharply. "You need to know, though, no matter what either of us feels, it's going to get shattered by what you're going to go through. District 12 never wins. I was a fluke. You're probably going to end up dead. If you do win by some miracle, you're not going to be the same. It's impossible for anyone to be the same after winning the games. You'll have watched all your friends die. You might have even had a hand in their deaths. That's something you'll never forget."

Rema hugged Haymitch and tried to forgive that he was writing her off as dead already. "Haymitch…"

He cut her off. "You don't understand, Rem. The only reason I drink is to forget what happened in that arena. It doesn't work, but I still do it."

"Mitch," she said softly, "I don't know what to tell you. I know it's going to be hard. I know I probably won't win, but I can't think like that right now. It's mind over matter, you know?" When Haymitch still looked apprehensive, she cupped one hand to his cheek. "Mitch, I'm going to be fine." Going on a split second decision, she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

When they broke apart, Haymitch leaned his forehead against hers. "I hope you're right."

At that moment, Chirler walked into the living room. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Haymitch sighed and without tearing his eyes from Rema, said, "You mingle. Attempt to get a strong alliance together. I think I'd let Rema handle the alliance. Tell me, Chirler, what can you do?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"What can you do to defend yourself in the arena? I'm good with knives and spears. What can you use to kill?" Rema clarified for Haymitch, who smiled. Rema usually shared a wavelength with Haymitch.

Chirler thought for a second. As a jeweler's son, he didn't have any specific talents that he learned from watching his father. "I can make traps," he stated slowly, "Not deadly ones, but they could buy us a lot of time."

Haymitch nodded and finally looked at his other tribute. "Stay away from the knot tying areas. And you," he turned his attention back to Rema. "Don't go near the knives or plants. You excel at both. It's better to keep your competition guessing." Rema nodded. "Now, go change." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I can't look at you in that dress without wanting you."


	6. Chapter 6

Rema looked at the chestnut soup in front of her with disgust. The bright green stock with brown chunks of chestnut did not look appetizing, even if she _did_ like the soft nut. "I swear to you, it's delicious," Chirler said, eating his quickly.

"Then you can have it." Rema pushed the bowl across the table to him. Chirler's eyes lit up quickly.

"Rem!" Metyse called, running forward and practically tackling her.

"Hey," she hugged the petite girl. Noticing Kelid, she waved. "Hey, Stranger." Kelid nodded. "Always the silent type."

Metyse let go of Rema and motioned to the girl standing just behind Kelid. "Rem, this is Metelle Hawkins. She's from District 9."

Rema knew of Metelle. She had wanted her on the alliance, but didn't know how to approach her. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rema Becksling."

The redhead gave a small nod, waving her hand in greeting. "Hi," she murmured in a quiet voice. She seemed reserved around strangers. Rema guessed that pulling her into the alliance would be tough. Maybe she would wait to see if their alliance survived the initial blood bath before inviting the timid farm girl.

"Sit down," Chirler said to Kelid, Metyse, and Metelle. The three obligingly sat down.

"So, Metelle, what did you do back in District 9?" Rema asked politely, trying to get a feel for the girl and her abilities.

"I helped my father in the fields. We're a plower family," she replied, starting to warm up a bit with conversation. "For extra money, sometimes I put carvings up for sale...what about District 12?"

"Life story time," Metyse teased, in a sing-song voice.

Rema chuckled. "Ignore her. I wouldn't know what it's been like in District 12. I moved to District 1 four years ago. That's where I met Kelid and Metyse. My dad was a doctor and my mom made perfumes from the flowers in our gardens. I just moved back to 12 recently."

"Oh," Metelle replied, eyes lighting up in realization. "I'm surprised they let you do that. Usually, no one's allowed to go from district to district without Capitol authorization." She mentioned the last part more quietly, showing a small disdain for the Capitol, as anyone in the lower ring of the districts would. "How come you didn't stay in District 12, though? I mean, don't they need doctors down there?"

"My dad wanted to give us a better life," Rema replied quietly, "And there were a few doctors in District 12 at the time. They were old, but they were able-bodied."

"I understand," she replied with a small nod. "I guess all of our fathers would do the same, if they were offered a better life." Rema nodded, but remained silent. Metelle frowned. "Did I say something...?"

Metyse shook her head. "It's not your fault. Her father died a year ago. That's why they moved back to District 12. You couldn't have known."

The plower's cheeks turned bright red, a hand reaching to clamp around the back of her neck. "Sorry..."

Rema shrugged and repeated Metyse's words. "You couldn't have known."

"Um..." she quickly tried to change the subject, looking at everyone in the small little "circle" they had made, seeing the Career Tributes on the other side of the room, talking so quietly it was nearly suspicious. "Any ideas what the arena might be this year...?"

Rema smiled and accepted the new subject. "Haymitch said that the terrain reflects the tributes' strengths while playing to their weaknesses."

"So it's going to have a lot of people you can complain to?" Chirler joked.

Rema made a face at him. "Shut up, Chirler, or you're not getting my soup tomorrow."

"Hope it's the woods, then..." Metelle replied, but didn't say anything else. The Careers were staring at them.

"You and me both," Rema replied, smiling deviously and waving girlishly at the Careers. "Hey, Cuties!" she called to them. They all turned away from the group. The redhead grinned in slight satisfaction.

"Let's leave," Chirler announced, standing.

"Done eating your two soups, Fatso?" Rema prodded, poking him in the stomach.

Metelle blinked, scanning Chirler carefully, before turning to Rema. "I don't see any fat on him."

"She was joking, Metelle. She knows my dad can barely afford to feed himself, let alone the both of us." Chirler shrugged. "It's not a big deal, though. We've found ways to survive."

"Illegal ways to survive are ways to survive indeed!" Rema whispered. They walked out of the dining hall and back to the practice area, where Rema quickly looked around. Seeing that no one was around, she walked over to a pile of knives in front of a throwing target.

"What are you doing?" Chirler whispered frantically. "Haymitch said…"

Rema cut him off. "No one's watching, Chir." She tossed a knife in the air and caught it backhandedly.

Metelle looked around carefully as well, seeing no cameras around or anyone else other than all of them. She reached deep in her pocket, pulling out a small pocketknife and a half-finished, wooden arrowhead she'd been working on. She began to sharpen the edge, adding small little nicks in, acting like thorns on a rose stem.

Rema smiled at her and walked back ten paces. "I'd move, unless you want impaled." Chirler, Metyse, and Kelid quickly scattered. Metelle, eyes locked firmly on her work and looking deeply concentrated, took a sidestep away. Rema took a deep breath and extended her right arm to shoulder height, lining up the knife with the target. To steady her arm, she put her left hand on her right forearm. She bent her arm backwards at the elbow and flicked it forward, releasing the knife. It flew forward and lodged itself in the center of the target.

Metelle blinked, eyes jolting up as she nearly dropped her own knife, clasping it tightly in her hand as she saw the gleaming weapon pierce the bull's eye.

"I'll admit," Chirler said, glancing to the doorway, "That was impressive. Go put it back." Rema rolled her eyes, but obeyed, just clearing into the next area, fire starting, when the Careers entered the room. Metelle discreetly slipped the knife and arrowhead into her pocket, trying not to look tense.

"We should probably split up now," Kelid said, speaking for the first time all day.

Rema nodded. "I agree. We'll meet up again tomorrow. Discuss a strategy."


	7. Chapter 7

The days passed quickly until it was personal training day, two days before the Games were to begin. Everyone was sitting in the dining hall, awaiting his or her turn to impress the judges. Since the female of District 12 always goes dead last, Rema was forced to watch each one of her friends and allies, as well as the Careers and the other tributes, enter the training room and not come back. Finally, Rema was called into the room and was met by a panel of judges, all of which looked extremely bored and tired. This was going to be horrible. Rema walked over to the knife table and selected the sharpest three. She grabbed a wooden bow and snapped it in half, sitting on the floor. She sharpened half the bow into a fine point and stood. Rema cleared her throat loudly, gaining the attention of two of the judges. "Excuse me," she called, grabbing the other judges' attention. She walked ten paces away from the target and faced it. She tossed the sharpened bow first and it landed in the center of the target. Next, she threw her knives, which landed in a nice cluster at the bull's eye, one of the three even split the bow. "Thank you for your time."

She exited the training room and got on the elevator, jabbing the button to the twelfth floor. When the doors opened, Haymitch was pacing anxiously. "How did you do?" he asked her.

"Fine, I guess," Rema replied, plopping onto the couch.

One of the three servants appeared in the door to the dining room, signaling that dinner was ready. They ate in silence quickly. They heard the Capitol anthem blaring from the living room and rushed out, not wanting to miss the scores. Kelid's face popped up on the screen first, along with the number 6. It was an average score; most people didn't get above a 7. Metyse was next. She got a seven and was right on par with the average. The boy from District 2, Untian was next. He received a nine, which was the typical score of the Careers. Rema didn't care about anyone's scores until District 6's male tribute, Chelmot, who received a nine. Metelle got a six, showing her carving didn't impress the judges. When Chirler's face appeared on the screen, everyone became focused, staring at the image until the number nine appeared under his picture. Chirler broke into a grin. Rema's score was next, and she felt herself holding her breath. Her eyes widened when she saw her score: she had been given a ten. Without thinking, she threw her arms around Haymitch, who drew her close, laughing. Elaina coughed and the two broke apart awkwardly.

"So, the interview tomorrow," Haymitch said, his arm still around Rema's waist, "What angle are you going to play?"

"I wanted to do humble, but I guess with Telis' makeover, that's not going to work. I feel like a lot of people will attempt sexy and provocative, so that's out," she responded. "What angle do you suggest?"

"Stick with humble," he suggested. "It's closer to your actual personality, so you won't have to do much acting." Rema nodded. "Now go to sleep, both of you. It'll be a long day tomorrow." He kept his arm around Rema until Chirler and Elaina left the room. Rema grabbed his hand and began to walk down the hall. "Where are we going?"

"You know I'm not going to be able to sleep," Rema stated, bypassing the door to her room and continuing on. "So I figured maybe you'd like to join me on the roof. Make sure I don't try to do anything stupid." Haymitch chuckled. Rema doing something stupid was the last thing he was worried about.

They arrived on the roof only seconds later. Rema dropped Haymitch's hand and continued walking to the edge of the roof, where she leaned against the railing, arms folded on top of each other, and looked out across the city. Everything was lit up, celebrating the final days before the Games began. If Rema had been here under different circumstances, the Capitol would be beautiful; however, the lights and glitz only symbolized the Capitol's eternal bloodlust and monstrosity. Haymitch wrapped his arms around her waist protectively and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What am I going to do, Mitch?" Rema whispered sadly. She was confused and Haymitch was the only one who could help her. "I promised Chirler's father that I would take care of him. How am I supposed to do that if I have to kill him? If Chirler dies, then District 12 will hate me. If I die protecting Chirler, there's no guarantee that he'd even survive to win it."

Haymitch held her tighter. "Your alliance is possibly the best way to protect Chirler. If you die, then the others will protect him. If he's in danger, they will help you protect him. Don't worry so much about it; it'll work out in the end." Rema sighed and leaned against Haymitch. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"Of what?" she whispered. "Of dying? No. Of killing innocent people? Terrified."

Haymitch turned Rema so that she was facing him. Her face reflected her fears. Drawing her in closer, Haymitch whispered, "It's going to be fine. Play well and you won't have to kill anyone."

They remained on the roof for at least an hour before Rema yawned widely. Haymitch led her off the roof and to her bedroom door, where he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight." Rema opened the door and watched as Haymitch entered his room.

The next morning, Rema was awoken by Elaina knocking on her door. "Get up! Telis will be here in minutes." Rema sighed and swung her legs out of bed. She chuckled when she heard Elaina scream. "Oh, hello, Telis."

Telis walked into Rema's room without knocking and hugged her. "Hey, kiddo. Interviews are today." Rema nodded. "Normally, Elaina would teach you things like how to walk in heels and such, but since you already know how to do that, she figured she'd just give me extra time with you." Rema smiled, but said nothing. "What, not even a giggle? What's wrong, Rema?"

Rema shook her head and shrugged. "I'm just not in the mood."

Telis sat on her bed. "Games got you down?"

"More than you know."

"You're a tough girl, you'll make it through." Telis smiled deviously. "I know what you need." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom. He bypassed the normal 'bath-makeup-hair-clothes' sequence and sat her directly in front of the large vanity mirror. "We'll prepare you for the interview later. Right now, I think you need to laugh." He chuckled. "What better way to get a laugh than to completely mess with Haymitch's grasp on reality?"

"You have me interested," Rema said as Telis spun her around and began to apply makeup.

"We're going to make you super sexy and take you up to the roof. Then I'll send Haymitch up and his reaction will be priceless!"

Half an hour later, Rema's eyes were covered with smoky eye make-up that not only brought out her blue-green eyes, but made her eyes seem bigger. The eye shadow was shimmery, and there was a thick cat-eye eyeliner outlining her blue-green orbs, as well as glittery green eyeliner rimming the inner corners. Telis had used a red wine lipstick to make her lips look fuller. He straightened her normally wavy hair, which brought out the highlights and choppy layers his team had added.

Telis held out four garment bags to Rema. "Try these on. I want to see you in them all."

Rema smiled and went back into the bathroom. Putting on the first one, she cringed. It was black lace. _Only_ black lace. The entire dress was see-through, which Rema could see how it classified as sexy, but it was something she would never wear. "Telis, I hate this one," she called out of the bathroom.

"If it's the lace one, I know. I do too," he replied. "Don't come out, I don't want to see it."

_Then why did you give it to me?_ Rema thought. She took it off and unzipped the next bag. She liked this one much better. It was made of a shimmery red material. Rema put the strapless dress on, and noticed that it only came to her mid-thigh and the tight material accented her curves. Overall, though, she liked it. Walking out of the bathroom, she smiled to Telis, who nodded in approval before shooing her back into the bathroom to try on the others. Both of the other two dresses were similar to the red one, except in color: one was black and the other was the color of the ocean.

"I love that one on you. Don't change," Telis commanded, indicating his preference to the blue mini-dress. "Now put this on and go up to the roof." He handed her a long robe and shoes to put on and shooed her out of the room. "I'll bring Haymitch up in five minutes."

Rema walked through the hall and took the stairs to the roof, where the sun was still high in the sky. She guessed it was only around eleven. Rema slipped off the robe and moved so she could see Haymitch when he entered the roof, but he couldn't see her. Haymitch walked onto the roof thoroughly confused. "Rema?" he asked, looking around to find her. Thinking of what Telis would want her to do next, she walked into his line of vision. Haymitch's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. "Rema…" he managed.

"Hey." She walked towards him. "Happy Interview Day."

"Th-thanks." Telis was right. Watching Haymitch squirm _was_ fun. "Why are you…?"

"Dressed like this?" Rema shrugged. "Telis thought I needed a pick-me-up. Apparently, that came in the form of watching you squirm. Why, don't you like my dress?"

Haymitch shook his head. "No, I love it." Rema chuckled. "It's just that… I don't think it's very professional for a mentor and a tribute to…" he trailed off.

"To…what?" Rema prodded.

Instead of answering her, Haymitch pulled her close and kissed her passionately. As their lips moved in unison, Rema's arms snaked around his neck, pulling their bodies even closer. Haymitch's hands rested on her waist, where he rubbed circles into her flesh. He bit her bottom lip gently, begging for entrance; Rema granted it and their tongues began to fight for dominance.

Later, when Haymitch and Rema walked into the living room, winded and holding hands, Telis jumped up and offered Rema a high-five. "I _so _called that one, Girl. Now, go eat your lunch."


	8. Chapter 8

Rema sat onstage beside Chirler, watching Caesar Flickerman interview the female from District 11. The host was dressed in light pink, from his bubblegum pink hair to his shoes. The District 11 girl was attempting to play sexy, but she was failing miserably. She wasn't dressed right to pull off sexy—her dress was powder blue and long, with sleeves that formed bells at her wrists. Suddenly, the girl's time was up and the District 11 boy was stepping to the interview chair. Rema hummed softly to herself to keep the butterflies away and thought about her friends' interview styles. Metyse had played the peppy and sarcastic card, either making everything Caesar asked her a joke, or answering it truthfully. Kelid had played the silent, brooding type, which wasn't really a stretch for him, answering mostly in yes or no. Chelmot, not really one of her friends, but a hopeful ally, had used his bubbly and friendly personality to his advantage, captivating the audience with both a smile and a well-placed joke. Metelle, on the other hand, was shy and nervous her entire interview, charming the audience in her own unique way. Then the District 11 boy was sitting down and Rema felt herself stand and walk over to Caesar, avoiding the urge to adjust her pale grey dress or play with her mockingjay necklace that Telis had given back to her only hours prior. She shook Caesar's hand and sat down on the chair across from him.

"Good evening, Miss Becksling," Caesar said cheerily.

"Good evening, Mr. Flickerman," Rema replied, mirroring Caesar's enthusiasm.

"You're too cute. Isn't she too cute?" Caesar asked the camera. The audience erupted into thunderous applause. "Now," Caesar began, calming the crowd, "I must say, I'm loving your necklace. Did you make it yourself?"

Rema shook her head quickly. "Oh, no. Chirler's father gave it to me the day of the reaping."

"Well, I'd say Chirler's father did a lovely job." Caesar leaned closer to examine it. When he leaned back into his seat, he smiled pleasantly. "Now, down to business. We all know that you've lived in District 1, but 12's your home, right?" Rema nodded assent. "The Capitol's a big change from that. Has anything impressed?"

Rema cocked her head in thought. "Well, I'd have to say the lights. Never in my life have I seen such a gorgeous display of glamour solely in fluorescent lighting."

Caesar laughed. "We here at the Capitol do take pride in our fluorescent lights. They're all specially designed to make us all look fabulous, but when one blows at my house, yeesh, look out!" Rema smiled as the audience laughed at Caesar's joke. "So tell us about your dress at the opening ceremonies. I thought you looked gorgeous, as you do now. What're your thoughts on your stylist?"

"Well, if you think I looked beautiful, let me tell you, it was solely the dress. Telis could make the ugliest rock look fantastic," Rema said, attempting a humble answer.

"No, you're exquisite, I mean it you are. Isn't she, folks?" With the audience's cat-calls and reassurances, Rema knew that they were loving her. "And your training score makes you even more so. What's up with that? A ten! That's a terrific score, no matter who's getting it. Run us through what was going through your mind when you saw what the judges had given you."

"Well, I honestly couldn't believe that it was my face on the screen. A lot of the other tributes probably deserved a lot higher scores than me. After it sunk in, I was really excited," she finished, leaving out the part about hugging Haymitch, hoping that Caesar wouldn't know about their budding relationship.

"Well, I'm sure you deserved it. Now, what's this I've been told about a tiny fling with Mr. Mentor?" Caesar asked, smiling.

Rema felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. "It's not a… well," she sighed and collected her thoughts. "Haymitch and I are not dating." She decided to quell the rumors quickly. "He and I are just friends. If something blossoms in the future, so be it, but we are not dating."

Caesar nodded. "Fair enough. We believe you. Last question before we have to move on: Rumors are going around that you actually have a hidden talent."

Rema raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. "And what would that be?"

The buzzer rang, saving Rema from answering another question. "Sorry, folks, I guess we won't be finding out about her hidden talent." The crowd groaned as Rema went back to her seat.

Later that evening, Rema lay on her bed, beside Haymitch. He coiled his arms around her protectively, drawing her closer to him, while she burrowed her face into his chest, taking in his scent. For spending more time with a bottle in his hand than without, alcohol surprisingly did not dominate; he smelled more of spice and coal smoke. It was the last night before the games, and Rema wanted to spend as much time with Haymitch as possible. Rema felt Haymitch sigh heavily and she heard something she thought she never would: Haymitch was lightly crying. "Mitch, are you alright?" she whispered, moving so that she could see his face. Though he tried to hide it, Rema could see the tell-tale streaks on his face. "Mitch, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

Rema brushed his face with the back of her hand. "You can tell me."

Haymitch shook his head again and smiled slightly. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm just being a baby."

"I'm not going to die, Mitch." Rema knew why he was upset. "The odds are against me, but I'll be fine. I promise you."

Haymitch nodded. "I believe you. Now go to sleep. I expect Elaina is going to be waking you up early tomorrow for Telis."

Rema nodded against his chest. "Are you leaving?"

"Not unless you want me to," Haymitch whispered. She answered him with silence, and he tightened his arms around her. "Pleasant dreams."


	9. Chapter 9

Rema sat silently in the back of the hovercraft as it flew through the sky to the arena. Telis sat to her right, holding her hand to comfort her. The craft landed and they exited into a hangar-looking area. They were escorted to a room, where Telis' equipment sat in the center. Telis helped Rema into her Games attire, a pair of dark blue pants with a white stripe down the leg and a matching polo shirt. "It's made to keep you cool. Expect heat," Telis told her. "Keep your necklace tucked in your shirt so it doesn't get caught on a branch." He handed her a pair of boots. "These are pretty heavy-duty. I'm assuming there's going to be mud and lots of walking." Telis finished lacing them for her when an Avox came to collect them. "Show time, Kiddo. You ready?"

Rema gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, right."

Telis chuckled. "Come on." He walked her out to the platform that would take her into the arena. "Keep your head up. Use the 60 seconds to your advantage," he advised as the glass rose around her. Rema put her hand to the glass and Telis mouthed the words, "I'm sponsoring you," before she started to rise.

Seconds later, Rema appeared in a boggy area in front of the Cornucopia. She saw items littered about in front of her. Looking around, she spotted Metyse directly to her left, Metelle three people down to her right, and could barely make out Chirler on the other side of the giant stockpile. _Get to the Cornucopia. Get knives. Run like hell to the woods._ She reminded herself, glancing to her right where a thicket of trees stood. The gong sounded and Rema broke into a run, grabbing an orange pack on her way to the Cornucopia. She grabbed a handful of knives at the stockpile before turning and running in stride with Metyse. They were almost halfway from the blood bath when something sharp hit Rema in the calf. She screamed in pain and turned, seeing the girl from District 4, Lismet Searose, holding a knife, poised to throw it at her. Suddenly, she fell, an arrow sticking in her back. Rema saw Chelmot standing behind Lismet, holding a bow. He began running to Rema and pulled one of her arms around his shoulders, helping her to run to safety.

Once they reached the thicket, Chelmot sat her on the ground. "Thanks," Rema said. "You saved my life."

"It's not a problem." Chelmot looked at her expectantly. "I want in on your alliance."

Rema nodded. "It's only fair."

Metyse appeared, along with Chirler. "Rema!" Her words were drowned out by a scream from the Cornucopia.

"I'm fine." Rema dug through her bag and happily extracted a medical kit. She pulled the knife out of her leg, cleaned the wound, and bandaged it tightly. She stood tentatively, and finding that her leg didn't cause her too much pain, walked over to a tree and grabbed a handful of leaves, cleaning the blade of the knife. She put three of the knives in her belt and the rest in an easily accessible pocket of her backpack. "Where are Metelle and Kelid?" she asked finally, once she was sure the blood bath was over. The cannon went off six times, signaling six people had died in the initial foraging.

Metyse shrugged. "I don't know. Do you want to go through the bags to see what we got while we wait for them?"

Rema nodded. "We can get water, too." Rema dumped her bag out in front of her. It contained the medical kit, an endo/exothermic blanket, two water bottles, two bottles of iodine to purify water, and a pair of night vision glasses. Metyse's bag held the same and she had grabbed a bow and two quivers of arrows. Chelmot hadn't managed to grab a bag, but he did have a water bottle, a bow and quiver full of arrows, and two knives. Chirler only had a plastic container.

"I knew I wasn't fast enough to get in and out of there," he explained.

Rema smiled. "You made the right decision. You would've died."

The bushes around them started to rustle, and Rema pulled a knife from her belt as Chelmot and Metyse drew back their bows. Metelle crashed through the brush, hands raised to show peace. They all dropped their weapons. "Where's Kelid?" Rema asked quickly.

Metelle shook her head. "I don't know."

"Well, we'll find out tonight, won't we?" Chelmot said softly. Rema nodded.

"It's no use staying here, then. We need to find food and water." Metyse stood. "I'll climb to the top of this tree. Maybe I can see a stream or a lake or something."

"Be careful," Rema told her.

Minutes later, Metyse was at the top of the tree. "There's something across the Cornucopia. It looks like a lake!" she called down. "There are some trees around, so maybe there are some animals, too."

"Then that's where we go next." Rema and Chelmot put everything back into the bags while Metyse climbed back down. The group made it to the Cornucopia in five minutes, where they picked up other useful items. Chelmot grabbed a small bag that contained crackers and a loaf of bread and Chirler picked up a broken knife saying that something was better than nothing. They finished the trek to the lake, where they filled up their water bottles and added the iodine to purify it. Chelmot, Metelle, and Chirler stayed at the lake to guard their things while Rema and Metyse went hunting for both food and a safe place to camp for the night.

They arrived back to the lake with three rabbits, which Chelmot skinned and cooked. The group only ended up eating two of the rabbits, so Rema put the rest in Chirler's plastic container. Rema and Metyse led the way to a rocky outcropping perfect for shelter. The sun set quickly and when it was completely dark out, the Capitol's emblem appeared in the sky. The anthem began to play and the little group congregated outside the outcropping so they could see the death count. The count went in numerical order of district, then boy to girl. When Lismet Searose's face was the first in the sky, Rema knew that Kelid was still alive. Also among the dead were the girl from District 6, both District 7 tributes, and the girls from Districts 10 and 11. Six were dead; eighteen were left to die another day.


	10. Chapter 10

The second day of the Games passed by without any deaths. The sense of foreboding in the arena increased as all the tributes prepared themselves for the Capitol's way to make things more interesting: muttations. The group awoke on the third day to blood curdling screams and the sound of running as something thundered outside of the rocks they were hiding behind. Chirler made to leave the cave to see what was going on, but Rema held up a hand and shook her head. Chirler wasn't as light on his feet as she was, and was more likely to attract attention. Instead, Rema and Metelle left the cave silently, following the sound of heavy footsteps through the woods to a clearing, where they hid in the bushes.

"What the hell is that?" Rema asked the red-head, watching in horror as a four-legged animal began to devour one of three trapped tributes.

"I-I don't know," Metelle replied, her voice quiet as she clutched the silver handle of a knife in her hand, one of the few things she managed to scrounge up before the bloodbath. The cannon sounded, revealing the muttation had killed its first victim.

The mutt looked in their direction at the sound of their voices, but seeing nothing, turned back to devour the next tribute. "I think it's a horse," Rema breathed. The cannon went off again, signaling the death of the second tribute. Metyse clutched the knife tighter and began to stand. "What are you doing?" Rema whispered, pulling her back down. "There's nothing we can do for them now."

"We need to leave," Metelle whispered, her eyes locked in slight horror at the scene, but still managing to stay composed. "Relocate as fast as we can...preferably a tree." The cannon went off a third time.

Rema started nodding, but caught herself. "No. If that thing comes back, we have to warn the others. We have to get them to safety."

"I know that much, I figured that goes without saying," the redhead responded, her brows crinkled up slightly at Rema for a moment.

The mutt began to walk toward them, nose in the air, apparently catching their scent. "Crap!" Rema exclaimed. "We need to go..." Before she finished her sentence, the mutt fell over, a knife sticking in its side. Rema looked at Metelle questioningly, but she was still holding her knife. "What the...Kelid!" She burst forward out of the bushes and hugged the tribute emerging from a tree to their left.

The color drained from Metelle's face as she clamped a hand on Rema's shoulder. The remaining mutts were beginning to close in on them.

"This should be fun," Rema grumbled, throwing a knife at the mutt closest to her. It fell quickly, blood spurting out of its wound. The remaining four mutts drew the tributes into a tight circle in the center of the clearing.

Metelle drew a knife from her belt, throwing it quickly past Rema to lodge into the throat of a mutt who decided to charge, the point sticking out through the other side of the mutt's neck before it collapsed.

Blood spattered all over Rema's shirt and she looked at it in disgust. "Well, that's going to be hard to remove," she mumbled, throwing another knife. It hit a mutt that was running at Kelid and the mutt fell to the ground, inches from Kelid. Kelid took out the last mutt easily.

"Sorry," Metelle apologized, walking over to the mutt she had killed and yanked the knife out, grimacing as she wiped off some of the blood by rubbing it against the coat of the mutt.

Rema extracted her own knives, cleaning them on some moss hanging loosely from a near-by tree. "I hope that's the last of them."

"Let's head back and get Chirler," Metelle suggested. "If there are more, I don't think we want to be around dead, potential relatives."

Rema chuckled. "That's possibly the best idea I've heard in a while." She led the way back to the outcropping, where Metyse and Chelmot were standing at the mouth of the cave, keeping guard. "Hey, look what the cat dragged in!" Rema chuckled, allowing Kelid to walk into the cave.

"More like the psychotic horse, but..." Metelle commented. Rema snorted, almost choking on the water she was drinking. "Oh, that reminds me." The redhead ducked out of the cave, heading a few feet away to wash off her knife in the small creek. The water wasn't fresh, so she knew no one would be dumb enough to drink it without purification.

"So, now what?" Rema asked the group once Metelle had returned. "Do we stay here or keep moving?"

"I think we should keep moving," Chelmot said.

"Yeah, it'll be really easy to follow the trail of destruction those mutts caused right to here," Metyse agreed.

Rema nodded. "Then that poses another question: Do we move today or tomorrow?"

Chirler looked up at the sky. "I say we wait. It's almost five now. We might not find another good place to camp in the dark, plus we'll be at a disadvantage if any of those mutts decide to follow us."

"The morning it is."

The rest of the evening passed by slowly. If there were any more of the horse-mutts, they didn't show themselves, and there wasn't any more cannon fire. The Capitol's emblem lit up the sky that night, and after the anthem, the faces of the three that had been mutt-chow lit up the sky. Two of the three had been from District 3, the other from District 5. The death count was now up to nine.


	11. Chapter 11

Apparently, the Capitol was unhappy with the tributes' ability to stay alive, because when the fourth day came and went, a rustling came from the trees. In the distance, Rema could make out two distinct screams of pain while the group was packing up. "More mutts," she mumbled to Chirler, who had also heard the screams. The cannon fired twice.

"Better them than us," he replied, taking some of the water bottles over to the stream to fill them up. He was putting iodine in the bottles when Rema heard a light growling. "Sorry," Chirler said softly. "I'm so hungry."

Rema grabbed the food bag from Chelmot and looked through it. It was empty. The rabbit from the first day was gone. They had no more crackers. There were no berry bushes around. "Mitch?" she asked tentatively, looking up at the clouds. "Some bread, or something would be nice." As if on cue, two silver parachutes materialized in the sky. When they landed, Rema saw that one carried a loaf of bread, and the other a basket full of soup cans. Rema grinned widely and looked back up at the clouds, silently thanking Haymitch and the sponsors that had bought them these gifts.

"I think you made a great impression," Metelle told Rema, a small smile on her face. "Your interview was really good." She pulled back her knife once more, finishing the twelfth arrow she'd done today. Placing it carefully in a quiver, she handed it to Metyse, before pulling out another branch of wood to work on Chelmot's.

Rema shrugged. "Glad you thought so." She handed a piece of the bread to Chirler. "Eat as much as you can. You're going to need your strength."

"No," Chirler protested. "Haymitch sent it to you. He paid for it with your sponsors' money. It's your food."

"Chir," Rema said patiently, "I'm giving it to you. You're hungry. Eat it."

Chirler took the bread apprehensively, as if expecting it to burst into flames the moment he touched it. When it didn't, Chirler bit into the bread happily. "It's still warm!" he gushed. Rema smiled, making a mental note to thank Haymitch for fresh bread.

Chirler finished the loaf of bread while they were walking, attempting to help the rest of the group find a new place to camp. Metyse climbed up a tree in order to find a source of water near something that would suit as a campsite. "Hey, guys, look at this cute little guy!" she called down. Rema looked up and saw a tiny grey bear crawling across the branch toward Metyse. From below, Rema could see a malicious look on its down turned face.

"Metyse, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Rema yelled just as the bear lunged at the small girl.

Rema heard her friend scream and an arrow whiz up into the tree before she saw what was going on. Chelmot, with his cat-like reflexes, had drawn his bow and shot an arrow at Metyse's would-be killer. Chelmot shot two other mutts crawling across the tree branches, buying Metyse more time to look around. When she was done inspecting the landscape, Metyse collected Chelmot's spent arrows and climbed down the tree.

She hugged Chelmot tightly as if hanging on to her life. It was now twice that Chelmot had killed to save a member of the alliance. Perhaps he was more invaluable than Rema had initially believed. The cannon fired for a third time that day and Rema looked around, making sure the koala bears had not come back to life. Seeing that all her friends were fine, she continued hiking, following Metyse's directions. Chelmot carried three of the dead bears behind them, intending to use them as a main course. Two hours before sunset, the group stopped at a cave near a lake that sat not even ten feet from a huge drop-off. Learning from Haymitch, Rema threw a rock down the gorge. Much to her dismay, the rock did not bounce back to her. She heard a loud 'zap' and knew that it had been disintegrated. So much for using Haymitch's way of winning to their advantage. "Welcome to the edge," she told Metyse and Chelmot, who were watching her curiously. The cannon sounded yet again. "Four in one day. I think that's a new record for us," she joked drily. Chelmot rolled his eyes and finished skinning the bears.

An hour later, Chelmot sent Kelid and Rema to go find edible plants. He was making this meal a feast since it was going to be one of the last they shared together. Their alliance was to break up when it was down to the final eight. The two foragers returned to the campsite with a bagful of plump raspberries. Chelmot extinguished the fire and it was time to eat. Rema forced Chirler to eat her share of the berries since he was so much more undernourished than she was. She would have made him eat her portion of the bear, too, but she was hungry. Berries were insignificant when you were raised on meat.

They had just packed up their food for the night when the Capitol's insignia shone brightly in the sky. The ritual was the same—anthem then victims—but the people were always different. Tonight, the death count was up to thirteen. There were only eleven left. Chirler volunteered to take the first watch.

Rema awoke early the next morning to muffled screams and a cannon shot. Shooting out of the cave, she saw Kelid lying on the ground, blood pouring from his stomach. He was dead. Standing over his body was Untian Yellred, the Career tribute from District 2. He had a knife in his hand and was preparing to throw it at Chirler, who was kneeling over Kelid's body, trying to staunch the bleeding. Like a shot, Chelmot was blocking the knife's trajectory and he took it square in the shoulder. Rema cringed as Chelmot went to the ground, clearly in pain. The tribute pulled a knife of his own and stabbed at Untian, catching his wrist. Now both men had knives in very painful, very vital joints. Chelmot sunk to the ground in pain, allowing Untian to escape. Rema immediately rushed forward. She helped her friend to lie down and pulled the knife out carefully. "Chirler! Wake the others. Have Metelle help you carry Kelid's body a safe distance away so they can come and pick it up," she commanded, her father's no-nonsense tone coming into her voice. Chirler nodded and scurried away.

Rema managed to patch Chelmot up well—he was no longer bleeding—but he still felt extreme pain. Closing her eyes and hoping for a miracle, she looked to the sky and into what she hoped was Haymitch's grey Seam eyes. "Please," she pleaded. "If not from you, then from District 6. Please, Haymitch." She stared up at the sky for a few minutes. The sun was beginning to rise, causing the sky to lighten significantly. Chelmot passed out minutes after her ill-fated plea. She gave up hope for the morphling when Chirler and Metelle returned from collecting more berries.

"What's that?" Chirler asked, pointing across the lake to a parachute stuck in a tree branch.

"Morphling," Rema said hopefully. Metelle circumnavigated the lake and was back in less than five minutes. Sure enough, a syringe sat in the box. Knowing that this one tiny syringe had probably cost all of she and Chelmot's sponsor money combined, Rema injected the contents into Chelmot's arm, praying that it would help. When Chelmot began to regain consciousness, Rema called Metyse over to watch him and to make sure he didn't try to get up. A scream and cannon shot. Not bothering to turn around, Rema called out, "Metyse?"

"None of us," she replied. Rema sighed going about preparing the morning's breakfast of berries and left over koala.

The group sat in the protection of the cave silently, eating their koala. Finally, Metelle spoke up. "What do we do next? Do we move, or do we stay here?"

"We stay," Chelmot said finitely. "Untian knows where we are. He's our biggest competition right now. If we take him out, then all we have to compete with are some lower district wannabes and each other." Rema realized how close they all were to winning and how much she loathed having Chelmot as an enemy; he killed relentlessly and without emotion, a trait Rema wished she possessed.

"Then stay we will, if only for a little while," Rema said, calculating the number of tributes still alive. "Four more people and we split up." She heard cannon shot. "Make that three."

"So what do we do today?" Chirler asked, yawning.

"You will sleep," Rema told him. "We'll wake you up for meals and such."

"But what if you need me?" Chirler protested.

"If I promise to only let you sleep for three hours, will you go to sleep?" Rema asked, practically pleading. Chirler needed his rest. He nodded and walked into the cave.

Rema let Chirler sleep as long as possible. The day was quiet, so why shouldn't he sleep? She was considering taking a nap herself when she heard another cannon shot. That made three people today, sixteen total, and eight left alive. Chirler awoke angrily, and it took a while for the group to get him to calm down. They ate the last of the bread Haymitch sent and a few cans of soup that night for dinner. When the Capitol's seal appeared in the sky that night, they all look up solemnly. Kelid's face appeared first and Rema felt a sob catch in her throat. She refused to cry. She would not give the Capitol the satisfaction. Kelid was better off. He didn't have to worry about the Games or the Capitol any more. The other two pictures flashed across the sky and the night fell quickly and silently.

The seventh day passed with little incident. Chelmot was completely healed; his knife wound no longer paining him. Untian was nowhere to be found, though. Rema knew he was still out there when two consecutive cannon shots sounded. There were only six of them left and it was time for the alliance to break into groups of two. Determining that it would be easier to just split apart in the morning, they stayed one last night at the cave.


	12. Chapter 12

Shrill shrieks. Rema was watching the scene play out in front of her like a bad dream. Untian had come in the middle of the night, as he had before, but this time, he went after Metyse. She screamed, waking the rest of the group up. Chelmot was at her side in a split second, but Untian was expecting him. Chelmot grunted as a knife punctured his stomach and he collapsed to his knees, holding his wound with one hand and supporting his weight with the other. He began to cough blood and Rema knew he was going to die. Then, as if by divine intervention, Untian collapsed in a dead heap. The cannon sounded. Rema blinked, confused by the whole event. Who had shot Untian? Looking around, she saw Chirler, bow in hand, looking at his shoes. Metelle was with him, checking on his mental state.

"Rema, help me!" Metyse called, bringing Rema back to the present. She ran over to Chelmot, who was barely conscious. Rema checked his pulse. It was sporadic and faint, but it was there. "Please, tell me he'll be fine," Metyse pleaded.

Rema moved so that she could see Chelmot's eyes, completely ignoring her friend. She wouldn't like the answer Rema could give her anyway. Chelmot's eyes were almost completely closed, but Rema lifted one of his eyelids. "Chelmot?" He groaned, signifying he could hear her. "I want you to follow my finger with your eyes, okay?" He groaned again. Rema put a finger in front of his eyes and moved it back and forth. He didn't follow it, or rather, he couldn't. She sighed. "Help me lay him down." Metyse did as she was asked.

Rema examined Chelmot's wound. It was deep and closer to his lungs than she had expected. A scowl crossed her face. "He's not going to make it, is he?" Metyse asked tentatively. Rema hated to deal in absolutes, but even she had to admit, Chelmot would not survive the night. She shook her head. "How long?" Metyse asked. Rema didn't answer. "How long?" the small girl repeated, her voice slightly pleading, slightly angry.

"A few minutes if he's lucky. If he isn't, probably a few hours. No more than six, though."

Metyse nodded. She was in shock. Rema could see tears threaten to spill from her eyes. "Can you leave me alone for a second?" Silently, Rema stood and left the grieving girl.

She watched from the mouth of the cave as Chelmot's condition worsened. Metyse sat beside the dying boy, clutching his hand. No doubt the Capitol's cameras were trained on this extremely heartbreaking scene. As the sun began to peek over the horizon, Metyse called Rema over. "Isn't there something you could do to help him? Make it quicker?" Rema shook her head. If Chelmot were dying in a hospital, or even in her house in District 12, there were medicines to make dying quick and painless. In a hospital, there were probably medicines that could save him. But not here in the arena. It was specifically designed to provide slow and painful deaths.

The minutes ticked by like hours until Chelmot opened his eyes. He was barely conscious and Rema could tell that he was struggling to hang on. "Metyse," he managed, beginning to cough up blood. Metyse wiped the crimson liquid from his mouth with a scrap of his tattered shirt. "Metyse, there's something I-I have to tell you." Metyse tried to shush him, but he kept talking. "W-we haven't known each other for a-a long time, b-but I-I…" he trailed off into a coughing fit. "I love…" He coughed one last time before the cannon fired. And then there were four.

"Chirler!" Rema called. He came almost immediately. "Divide the contents of the bags evenly. Two bags, two groups, got it?" Chirler nodded and scurried away. Rema put a hand on Metyse's shoulder. "We have to go."

"I'm not leaving him!" she protested.

"The hovercraft won't come until we leave. We have to do it eventually." She placed two fingers on Chelmot's eyelids, pushing them gently closed. He looked almost peaceful. "The sooner we leave, the sooner one of us gets out of here."

"How are we going to survive without him?" Metyse questioned softly. Rema had been wondering the same thing.

"We'll find a way. Untian isn't around anymore. It's just us. You know the rest of us. We're not conniving like the rest of the tributes." Rema replied honestly. "But we have to leave." Metyse didn't budge. Sensing that she wanted to give Chelmot a proper goodbye, Rema turned toward the cave. "I'm going to help Chirler. We leave in five minutes." She hated to be so tough on her friend, but it needed to be done.

Five minutes passed and Rema returned to Chelmot's body, where Metyse was smoothing down his hair. He was clutching a beautiful blue flower mid-blossom. The budding flower was just large enough to cover the knife wound. Rema handed Metyse one of two orange backpacks and stared down at Chelmot's body. "Thanks for everything," she mumbled, holding back tears. Chelmot had always been there for her and the rest of their alliance, the least she could do was thank him. Chirler and Metelle joined Rema and Metyse outside of the cave and they, too, said their goodbyes to Chelmot.

Chirler turned to Metelle and stretched out his hand. "Good luck," he offered.

Metelle gave a small nod, grasping his hand lightly and shaking it. "Thanks. You too."

Chirler smiled. "See you in another life," Rema told Metelle.

"If we have one, that is..." Metelle responded, glancing at one of the cameras, indicating the Capitol.

With one last look down at Chelmot, Rema steeled herself. "I think we've overstayed our welcome. Let's go." Metelle glanced at the two District 12 dwellers, a bit worried for them, before leaving with Metyse, not wanting to stick around for the hovercraft.


	13. Chapter 13

On day 10 of the Games, Rema found herself in the middle of the woods, eating lunch with Chirler. Well, Chirler was eating. Rema was picking berries for him to eat. A scream wafted through the air. It was not female, but Rema knew she knew it from somewhere. It took a few more screams for her to realize why it was familiar; the sound had haunted her dreams after the Quarter Quell. She would never be able to forget the sound of Haymitch's screams. She dropped the berries she was holding and attempted to plug her ears. There was no way that the Capitol had captured Haymitch and was torturing him, was there?

"Rema?" Chirler asked, supporting her as she lost her balance. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head as another scream joined Haymitch's. Rema cringed as a tear escaped her eyes. Chelmot had just died. Why was the Capitol torturing her like this? After a few minutes of the screams, a female sob joined the two male screams. Chirler looked around frantically and Rema read his lips. The sound belonged to his mother. It wasn't until Chirler helped her stand that Rema realized that they had both collapsed to their knees. "We have to get out of here," Chirler struggled, helping Rema to walk. On their way out of the clearing, Rema managed to grab her backpack. She began to walk on her own and she and Chirler walked aimlessly through the woods. The more they walked, the more it seemed the screams were directing them.

As they walked, Rema's ears picked up another sound: delicate sobs. She ran toward the sound and came out of the woods near the cave they had used as a shelter what felt like months ago. Metyse and Metelle were sitting in the mouth of the cave. Metyse had her head in her hands and Metelle was trying to comfort her, but to no avail. "And then there were four," Rema mumbled, walking over to Metyse and pulling her into a hug. Chirler hadn't moved from the edge of the woods. He was staring up into the tree intently. He took a knife from his belt and threw it into the tree. Rema heard Chelmot's screams die as a raven-colored bird dropped from the tree. Metyse looked up just long enough to see the bird fall. "It was just a jabberjay," Rema said, reassuring her. She nodded and the screams and sobs stopped completely.

Chirler began to back up toward the girls. Rema could see that his eyes were wide with fear as he reached slowly for a knife at his belt. From the woods emerged ten huge dogs, their muzzles covered with saliva and foam. Rema helped Metyse and Metelle to stand. The pack of dogs split up, five following Chirler, three breaking off to confront Metelle and one each for Metyse and Rema. Metyse's dog was the biggest of the pack. They all charged at the same time. She noticed vaguely that Chirler's dogs were very fast and had already bitten into his arm when her own dog pounced on her. She slashed it across the muzzle, but it wasn't phased. Rema kicked sharply and the dog got off her. Metyse was having a similar problem with the biggest of the mutts, but she managed to get it off her by stabbing it with an arrow. Rema saw that all three of her friends were dripping blood. The dog pounced again and Rema barely dodged its fangs. She heard a scream and saw that the five dogs that had attacked Chirler were now on top of him. Rema threw a knife at the dog that had attacked her and it landed square in the heart. The dog refused to die, though, and as a last ditch attempt to kill her, rushed forward. She threw two more knives at the dog and it finally collapsed. Rema heard two more screams and saw that Metelle's dogs had overcome her as well. Metyse was still struggling with hers. She was bleeding badly from her arm and leg, but she fought on. Finally, the dog collapsed. Sensing either that their defeat was imminent or that they had caused enough damage, the rest of the pack ran back into the woods.

Rema ran to Chirler, who was bleeding the worst. "Chir," she said softly, "Chir, speak to me." Chirler opened his eyes and Rema could already see the haze starting to cloud his blue-green eyes. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. That's when Rema noticed the gash in his neck. It was beginning to discolor, revealing that the dogs were somehow venomous. Rema knew that she couldn't save him, but she could comfort him while he died. "Chirler…" she didn't know what to say. He mouthed something, but she didn't quite catch it. He repeated it. _Sing for me._ Rema smiled. Chirler and Haymitch were probably the only two that knew Rema liked to sing. Now she was going to reveal it to all of Panem. She cleared her throat and thought of a song.

_If I die young, bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a bed of roses_

_Sink me in the river at dawn_

_Send me away with the words of a love song_

Chirler began to close his eyes, and Rema could tell that he was struggling to remain conscious. She held his hand and continued to sing.

_Lord, make me a rainbow shine down on my mother_

_She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors_

_Oh, and life ain't always what you think it ought to be_

_No, ain't even grey, but she buries her baby_

_The sharp knife of a short life_

_Well, I've had just enough time_

Rema saw Chirler's breathing slow and become labored. It faltered and his hand went slack. The canon sounded. It was all Rema could do to stand and walk to Metelle, who was in slightly better shape than Chirler had been. Her vital organs seemed to be fine as far as gashes, but Rema knew that the dogs' venom spread very quickly. As she looked down at Metelle, a thought crossed her mind. "Why didn't the jabberjays affect you like they did Metyse and me?"

Without hesitation, she replied, "You two both had someone that you valued more than your own lives. I mean, I had my sister, and I'm sure Chirler had someone in his family, but you two know what love was."

Rema nodded. It made sense. As she was pondering Metelle's answer, she saw the red-head's expression grow pained. She noticed for the first time the deep cuts covering Metelle's arms. She had used them to defend herself. The cuts weren't as serious as Chirler's, but if they were left untreated—Rema had no idea how to treat these wounds—they would cause certain death. "I'm sorry, Metelle, I don't know how to treat you," Rema admitted, staring down at her hands. "I wish I knew how to help you."

Metelle smiled weakly. "It's fine. I couldn't have won anyway."

"What? Yes, you could've!" Rema protested.

Metelle's breathing staggered as she continued to speak. "I would've never been able to form the alliance. I would've died in the blood bath. I'm limited in my abilities; you're… you can do everything we couldn't. It's up to you now." She closed her eyes. "I think I'm ready. Go take care of Metyse."

Rema closed her eyes as well and squeezed Metelle's hand before standing and walking over to where Metyse was sitting propped up against a tree. Rema didn't speak, she just pulled Metyse into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she choked out finally. She heard Metelle cough violently before becoming silent. The cannon sounded.

"About what?" Metyse croaked, her face streaked with tears. She was staring at a cord bracelet she had in her hand. Rema recognized it immediately as belonging to Chelmot.

"About him. About this. About everything."

Metyse smiled half-heartedly. "Don't worry about it. We're supposed to put each other through crap like this. It's what friends do."

"Friends aren't supposed to get each other killed!" Rema replied, examining Metyse's arm.

She jerked it away. "Don't." Rema gave her a questioning look. "I've got nothing back home. Just let it be. Enjoy the last few minutes we have alive." Rema sighed and sat back against the tree. Metyse would die because of the venom, anyway. Who was she to interfere with her last wish? "I want you to have this," Metyse told her, handing her the cord bracelet. "I took it from Chel—him, thinking I would make it to the end. But I guess I'm not." Rema looked at the bracelet and shook her head. "There's no other option. You're taking this bracelet. Remember us by it. Remember me and Kelid and all the stuff we did at school to get ourselves into trouble." She sighed and cringed, feeling the venom take hold. "But remember him most of all, okay? Remember what he did for me, you, all of us." Rema nodded and took the bracelet.

"You know, you and Kelid were the best friends I ever had," Rema confessed, twisting the cord between her fingers.

"Besides Haymitch, of course," Metyse added, coughing slightly.

"No. Of all time, it was you two. We were the closest. But, yeah, Haymitch is definitely up there."

Metyse yawned widely. "Thanks. I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if something interesting happens?" Rema nodded, knowing that this was the last time she was going to talk to Metyse. A sob caught in Rema's throat as she watched Metyse's eyes flutter shut and her body tense slightly. It slowly became limp and her breathing stopped. The cannon fired.


	14. Chapter 14

Days after the Games, Rema sat in Chirler's room in the Training Center. The Capitol wasn't the same without his constant ogling of the lights or criticism of the attire. Haymitch had generally let her alone to grieve, only bothering her to announce meals and to tell her to sleep. Chirler's room was immaculate, the way he had left it before the games. The Avoxes wouldn't rid it of Chirler's limited possessions until they all left the building for the final interview, which wasn't until later that night. What few possessions Chirler had brought to the Capitol, Rema wanted to take back to District 12. His father would surely want his son's pocket watch, the tie Chirler had worn for the Reaping, and his ring, a gift from his mother before she had died. Rema had collected these items and kept them with her always, for she had no idea if she would be able to return to her room before they left the Capitol.

Finally, Haymitch entered Chirler's room and sat down beside Rema. "Rem?" he asked tentatively. Rema had been ignoring him the past few days, choosing instead to be alone. They barely talked, even at meal times, where Rema would hobble to the dining room on her good leg—her injury from the Cornucopia had finally started to pain her—and sit to eat. "Rem, please, talk to me," he pleaded.

"About what, Haymitch? The fact that all my friends are dead? Lovely conversation that would be," she snapped, staring at the navy blue cord bracelet firmly tied around her wrist. Immediately after she said it, Rema wished she could take it back. Haymitch was her friend.

"Look, I know you're grieving and all and I respect that, but don't snap at me just because you feel bad for yourself," Haymitch responded coldly. "Fifty other people have experienced the _exact_ same grief. Get over yourself."

Rema glared at him. "I'm sorry, who needs to get over themselves? You're the one that drinks to escape it."

"And you sit in a room and mope," he argued.

Rema stood and walked out of the room. She couldn't deal with Haymitch's attitude right now. Passing Elaina on her way down the hall, she mumbled, "I'll be on the roof. Come get me when it's time to leave." She stormed up the steps to the roof, where she found that it was pouring down rain. The lights were still on, celebrating the end of the games—celebrating her—but now, instead of feeling disgust for the lights, she loathed the Capitol and all the lights stood for. She leaned against the railing and stared at the ground, letting the rain drill into her flesh.

"Hey." Haymitch's voice suddenly appeared behind her. She jumped and turned, instinctively reaching for her belt and groping for a nonexistent knife. She hadn't heard the door to the roof open, nor had she heard the footsteps that approached. "That reflex takes a while to get rid of," he informed her. "Anyway, Elaina told me to come get you. We're leaving for the interview in fifteen minutes."

"And why did that constitute coming up here now?" she asked callously. She didn't care about hurting Haymitch right now; she just wanted to be alone.

"I wanted to talk to you." Out of the corner of her eye, Rema watched him take off his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders. "And apologize. I know you're grieving. It's hard, trust me, but you've got to get over it. Or else…" he trailed off, but picked back up, "or else you'll end up like me: an unemotional, drunken jerk."

"You're not unemotional," she told him, smiling slightly. "A jerk, maybe. A drunk, I'm not sure about. But unemotional, you are not."

"Thanks," Haymitch mumbled sarcastically. "But, yeah, that's all I had to say. Accept it or don't, that's up to you." He began to walk to the door.

Rema closed her eyes and sighed. "Haymitch?" He stopped, listening. "Thanks. For everything."

He waited for her to catch up to him before beginning to walk again. They made it down to the twelfth floor to see Elaina, tapping her foot lightly. "Goodness, you two take a long time to make up," she chided. "Come along, then. Time for the final interview." She paused. "Your stylist said he'd meet us there. Good thing, too; you both look like drowned rats."

Rema laughed for the first time in four days.

The arrived in City Circle a few moments later, where Telis, Plusian, Gerit, and Yevim were waiting to whisk her away. She and Haymitch both followed them, because, according to Elaina, they both needed some work. The entire time Rema was being worked on, she had to listen to Yevim rave about the Games and what had happened in them. Rema just sat silently, neither participating in the conversation nor paying attention to it. She found herself watching Plusian's fingers while he touched up her highlights. The hair technician wasn't speaking, but it was clear that he was also ignoring Yevim. Finally, Telis entered the room, saving Rema from hearing any more of Yevim's exited prattle.

"You'll be excited to know that I've picked out something beautiful for you to wear," Telis told her, brushing a fine layer of make up onto her face. Rema attempted to look enthused. Telis chuckled. "And that you and Haymitch will match!"

Rema looked at him with confusion. "Why in the world would that matter?"

Telis seemed shocked. "You didn't hear?" He continued when she stared at him blankly. "President Snow wants you both on stage for the interview. You _are_ Haymitch's first success, you know."

Rema rolled her eyes and sighed. "Don't remind me." She was helped into a midnight blue, silky dress that came to just above her knees. It had a sweetheart neckline and was strapless. The bottom was choppy and jet black tool peeped out from the hem. Telis handed her a pair of grey strappy heels and she slipped them on easily. Telis trimmed her hair and styled it so that it was board straight, with choppy layers that brought out her highlights. Her fringe bangs hid half of her left eye. Her makeup accented her hair, with dark eye shadow at the base that faded to almost silvery.

"I do believe you're done. And just in time, too!" he exclaimed, looking at his watch before standing back to look at her. "There's something missing, though." He thought for a second before grabbing Haymitch's dark grey sweater that she had worn to the City Circle. Telis held it out and Rema stepped into it. He left it unbuttoned and smiled. "Perfect. Now, let's take you to the stage, shall we?"

He led her to the stage, where Caesar was already sitting, in his pink suit, awaiting the start of the interview. He waved slightly at Rema, who waved back. Caesar was given the signal to begin the interview. "Good evening, everyone!" he exclaimed amiably. "Tonight, we have a very special program for you: not only are we interviewing your Games champion, Rema Becksling, but we're giving you an inside interview with her mentor and last year's winner, Haymitch Abernathy." The crowd erupted into waves of cheering and howling. "Let's bring them out, shall we?" The crowd cheered louder. "I don't think you're ready. I said, let's bring them out, shall we?" The crowd yelled and clapped as loudly as they possibly could. "That's more like it. Now, without further ado, I'd like to present the winner of the fifty-first Hunger Games, Rema Becksling!" Rema walked on stage to a fresh batch of cheering. She shook Caesar's hand and sat in the chair to his left. "Before we bring out Haymitch, let's talk a bit. Do you mind, Rema?"

"Not at all, Caesar. You know I never mind talking to you. You're too nice," she gushed, faking enthusiasm to be on the show.

The crowd cheered and Caesar played her comment up. "You're too kind." He smiled at her and it was so genuine that Rema couldn't help but smile back. "I love your outfit. Whose jacket is that?" he asked curiously.

Rema felt a slight blush creep across her cheeks. "Haymitch's," she said sheepishly. "I was cold, so he let me borrow it."

Caesar smiled as the audience cooed. "That alliance was brilliant." Caesar didn't waste any time seguing from polite pleasantries to the burning questions. "Whose idea was it?"

"Mine," Rema admitted.

"Well, it really was brilliant," Caesar reassured her. "Do you mind talking to us about Metyse and Kelid? You three seemed to share a bond that no one else in the Games had."

"We were all friends when I lived in District 1. Metyse was my neighbor and Kelid's father assisted my father at the hospital," she explained to Caesar, who nodded in understanding, encouraging her to continue. "We were extremely close," she concluded.

"It must have been hard losing them," Caesar said sympathetically.

Rema nodded. "You have no idea."

Caesar smiled, knowing it was time to change the topic. "So, you're the second winner for District 12. How does that feel?"

Rema shrugged. "It's nice to keep the people of District 12 from starving one more year."

"That's always a good feeling," Caesar said, putting a hand on her knee before turning to the audience. "Speaking of winners from District 12, how about we bring out the original?" The crowd cheered happily. "Haymitch?" After a split second's delay, Haymitch walked out on stage, waving charmingly. He was wearing a dark blue pullover V-neck sweater over a collared shirt. He smiled happily when he saw that Rema was wearing his jacket. Haymitch and Caesar shook hands.

The interview lasted for another half an hour. Caesar asked Haymitch about how it felt to succeed his first time mentoring and what was going through his head when the jabberjays had imitated his screams, to which Haymitch replied that he hadn't known Rema cared about him that much. He answered kindly and with a hint of humor, which caused the audience to laugh. Finally, when it came to the last few minutes, Caesar directed the question to Rema.

"So, Rema, I think I speak for all of Panem when I say that my heart broke when you had to say goodbye to Chirler, Metelle, and Metyse." Rema closed her eyes. This was the one thing she hadn't wanted to discuss. She steeled herself and prepared for the conversation. "But when you sang to Chirler, I must say, I almost cried. Where did you get that beautiful song?"

She smiled, happy for the compliment, but reeling from the sudden rush of emotions from the mention of her friends. "I found it. A long time ago."

"What do you mean?"

Rema recalled the moment perfectly. "My mom and I were digging in her lavender beds back in District 1 when we came across this metal box. We opened it and inside was these shiny discs and a circular machine, along with explicit instructions to work the machine. When we figured it out, the machine played music that was apparently stored on the discs. That song was one of them."

"Was there more to it?"

"Oh, yes, but Chirler didn't have much time."

"Would you sing it for us now?"

"I don't know, Caesar…" Rema trailed off.

"Come on. You'd all like to hear her sing it, right?" The audience cheered and shouted reassurances at her.

Rema rolled her eyes to Haymitch, who cracked a smile. She couldn't bring herself to sing it. Not this soon. "I'm sorry, Caesar. I can't. Not right now."

Caesar nodded slowly. "I understand. Maybe on the Victory Tour?"

"Yeah, maybe."

Caesar nodded. "Well, we thank you both for your time. Goodnight from the Capitol!" The audience clapped and Rema saw the cameras go off. "You two were fantastic," Caesar told them as they all walked off stage. "Really, you were. The cameras love you." Rema smiled at his compliment. "You're handling winning very well, my dear," he told her. "Everyone I've interviewed has either been near tears or silent. Even Haymitch here was close to a mental breakdown. It's nice to have someone who can cope well for once."

"Well, thanks, I guess."

"You two probably want to go home, and just look at me, I'm holding you up. I'll talk to you both later, yes?" Rema nodded, unsure of the next time she'd see Caesar. "Lovely. Goodbye." Caesar shook their hands again and walked away, leaving Haymitch and Rema to find Elaina at the car, whose windows were tinted so that no one could see into the car. They drove to the train station and departed immediately for District 12.

**End Book One**

**AN: Okay, so I do have some things planned for the sequel, but not enough to fill more than five chapters. If anyone has anything they would like to see happen, or just a basic idea about anything, let me know. Contributors might get a character based off them in future books. Thanks for reading!**


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